There's more to a Mid-Columbia Mastersingers concert than meets the eye. Before the 30-plus member group even starts singing, artistic director Justin Raffa will talk about the music before each piece is performed, hoping to widen the audience's appreciation of the music.
"I hope to heighten (the audience's) overall concert-going experience and appreciation of the program," he said. "I use layman's terms and try to focus on what people will actually hear as opposed to exploring more academic issues like music history.
"The music we perform is generally new and unfamiliar to most of our audience, so I try to provide them with a guide map of what to listen for and why these particular pieces are so unique and worthy of live performance."
He'll do just that at the Mastersingers' next concert. Joining the Mastersingers will be the Spokane Choral Artists ensemble, under the direction of Max Mendez.
The program includes music from Francis Poulenc's Figure Humaine, Robert Schumann's Vier Doppelchörige Gesnge, Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor, as well as Pietro Mascagni's Easter Hymn from the opera Cavalleria Rusticana.
The double feature concert will have three performances. The first will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 at St. Aloysius Church in Spokane. Then the concert comes home to the Tri-Cities for performances at 8 p.m. Feb. 9 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 10, both at the Parish of the Holy Spirit, 7409 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick.
Admission is $20 for adults and free for students from kindergarten through high school. Tickets are available at www.midcoumbiamastersingers.org, by calling 509-460-1766 or at the door.
*Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com
